Horse with swollen eye..... sore to touch?

Question

my boy has a swollen eye... bit of clear fluid coming out of it....

was thinking of giving him some bute and washing it out with some cold tea... any suggestions?>

Answer 1

When a horse cracks his eye and orbit on something hard it's ALWAYS in your best interst and your horses best interest to have a vet r/o whether or not your horse may have sustained an orbital fracture.  Or a fracture anywhere else on his head....my concerns are for fractures and corneal scratches which can turn into corneal ulcers very quickly.  Any eye injury deserves the attention of a veterinarian~!!!

Before you put ANYTHING into that eye, contact your veterinarian.  

Answer 2

I often use herbal treatments for all of my animals but when it comes to eyes I call the vet straight away. Horses will often rub and rub sore eyes. In fact, I've seen a pony loose an eye that way because the owner didn't get medical attention quickly enough. This is definately one for the vet!

Answer 3

My guy had a similar situation about a year ago. I called the vet to ask and she said the one thing they always prioritize outside of a true 911 like colic (i.e., get out to see about ASAP) is any kind of problem with the eye because it can be so many things and it doesn't take much to permanently damage the cornea. She came right away on a regular call and gave me antibiotic ointment to put in the eye twice a day; she told me even mild debris that irritates the cornea can leave scarring or scratching that may affect vision, if not treated properly. I also don't bute any more. After reading all of the recent scientific evidence on the damaging effects of bute on a horse's gastrointestinal system, such as ulcers, I've completely changed my perspective on bute as the equivalent of aspirin for horses. If I must, I use banamine instead. It's not nearly as harsh on their system and is the equivalent of tylenol 3 so it takes a lot less to get a much greater result. As BB suggested, saline solution is an excellent place to start, but don't take any chances on your boy's eye. I know, I know, I hate even having to type it: call the vet ;-)

Answer 4

i see 6 answers from people's who's opinions i trust and they're all saying the same basic thing. so i hope ya at least listen to one of the 6 and call the vet already.

edit: tee hehe i lied there were 5. . . but after work and late nights you cant really count, hehe.

Answer 5

Sorry to just give you a 'drive-by starring' , but I shudder at the thought of giving medical advice over the internet... I would HATE to be the reason for a mishap if my advice was taken and wasn't the proper thing to do.

Maybe one of my 'brave and super knowledgeable about injuries', contacts can help ya. =)

**Edit**

Hey BB!! and everyone else too!!! Yes, I noticed a 'thumber troll' made a little visit here too. hehehe... Ah well, I guess that's what you get when you use your brain for something more than keeping the inside of your head warm. =)

Answer 6

Kevin and BB...sittin' in a tree..

I say vet shmet.  Just put a furizone sweat over his face and it'll work itself out.

JUST KIDDING

If you wash it with anything, use saline...if he'll let you, that's always the trick.  If you have flymask, I'd put that on him until you can get the vet to see him.

My gelding poked himself in the eye with some thistles, and his just swelled up a bit, had some clear fluid coming out, and was gone overnight and was fine as long as I kept that flymask on.  But my mare had the same thing and she had apparently hit her head on something, chipped the bone above her eye, and needed surgery to remove it.  So the moral of the story is you just never know.  I'd rather pay for a vet call than have a one-eyed horse.

Answer 7

I'm with BB on this......... Well not with 'cuz I hear she's married and I don't want my butt kicked. Ok seriously Bunny has a good point. I have dealt with many many injury's, I will even drain an abscess myself. But when it comes to the eye I will not mess with it with out seeing a vet first. My recomendation is please see a vet. Please.

Answer 8

You really do need to call the vet.  It could be a scratch or other physical injury, or it could be uveitis (internal inflammation).   They both produce similar symptoms but require different treatments.  Treatment for uveitis could cause big damage if the true cause is a scratched eye!  Don't mess around and get your vet out there.

Answer 9

Take a clean wash cloth and luke warm salt water and wipe the eye with it, it will eventually go down then you can see why the eye was swollen. then just go to the vets and get some drops for the eyes and he should be better in about a week or so.

Answer 10

An eye injury is not something to guess about.  It could be minor and involve only the lid tissue, or it could involve the tissue of the eye itself, which means time is of the essence and proper treatment can only be determined after a proper diagnosis is made by your vet.  So, my advice is to have the vet look at it before you administer anything.

Answer 11

To reiterate the other trusted sources comments: please call your vet!! I'll do a lot of basic vet-stuff myself but for eyes... I'd prefer to get it checked out properly. I would also flush with saline and maybe put on a fly mask until your vet arrives, don't need any bugs adding to a potential eye infection.

Also, I'm sure you would hate for him to lose his eye, one eyed horses 'don't look too good' LOL- sorry, it's been a long morning.  

Answer 12

The only thing "I" would be putting in the eye...is clear saline solution.  Like we do for our contacts...to possibly flush out any debris.

Then after I flushed the eye and made sure I couldn't see any debris in the eye area...I would be making a call to the vet.  You don't mess around with eye problems.

And you don't [and shouldn't] put 'stuff'...whatever it is, like old medicine from another horse, or human remedies in the eye without the consult of a vet.  You run a high risk of permanent damage to the eye.  

The swelling is your indication to give the vet a call.

Hi Zigs!!  Looks like a 'thumbie' is on the loose!

Hey What were...you made me go back and count twice!!  Thought I was losing my mind...or forgot how to count!!

Kevin...my big ole former Marine and double black belt hubby...is just a big ole teddy bear!  *hmmm...as long as no other bulls are in 'his' pasture.* :)  :)

Julianne...I'm rubber, you're glue.  Whatever you say...bounces off me and sticks to you! na na na na naaahhhh.

Answer 13

I would hate to have my Horse loose an Eye !

It's not like he hasn't tried !

Call a Vet, it's worth the call !

Teddy Bear ????

Answer 14

Before you do ANYTHING with that eye I suggest contacting your vet. Injuries to the eye are nothing to be guessing about.

Answer 15

I would defiantly get some teramiacin in the eye. It will also help with the pain and swelling to give him a doseof antibiotics. This has always worked in my experiences.

Good luck!